Shock absorber



Aug. M, H923.-

A. E. c. GILMOUR SHOCK ABS ORBER Filed` Sept. 15 1921 WITNESS INVENTOFI.

traer ALFRED E. o. GILMOUR, or WILKINsBUiaG, PENNSYLVANIA.

yApplica/aon filed september 15, 1921. serial No; 500,921,

To allfwhomitmay/ concern.'

Be ity known that I, ALFRED E. C. .Gin MoUR, a citizen of the United States, resid- Y ing at VVilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have inf vented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock Absorbers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to shock absorbers for neutralizing or minimizing the effects of shocks or jars to motor vehicles, and resist the throw of thevehicle rbody under the infiuence of road inequalities.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a device o'f'the class stated which' will operate efficiently to resist abnormal throw of the vehicle Ybody under `adverse road conditions, without liability of breaking the springs or racking the vehicle, and

`which permits of the variable movements of the vehicle body without'cramping or binding the working parts of the absorbing mechanism.

Other-'objects are to lprovide an absorber of the character described, which not only prevents shocks due to rough roads, but produces a steadying effect when the vehicle is travelling upon ordinary roads or paved streets, eliminating the minor j olts and pre-y ventingthe cumulative effect of successive small bumps by controlling all movements of the vehicle body to. and from the chassis; and whereby a desired maximum .cushioning effect is obtained and undue depressions and rebounds are-effectively checked,'with little or none of the objectionable sudden'shocks frequently concomitant in the use of shock absorbing mechanismsnow in general use.

Further lobjects of the invention are to provide a device for the purpose set forth which is comparatively simple invits construction and arrangement, strong, durable and efficient in its use, convenient to install,

45 adjustable, positive in its action, attractive in appearance, and inexpensive to manufacture.V

VVV-ith other objects in view,that will appear in thef following description, my present in- 50 vention is ashock absorber that embodies the peculiar Vfeatures of construction and novel arrangement of parts hereinafter exi plained in detail, specifically pointed kout in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which formsxafportion of 1this specification and wherein like numerals of reference designate correspondof the bushnates the usual/structural steel frame upon which the vehicle body (not shown)v is adapted to be mounted. F ixedly secured toy the frame 1, by means of bolts 2, is a channel bar 3, integrally formed with an inwardly extending stud bolt 4 having ar threaded inner end 5 and disposed at right angles with respect to the bar 3.

Pivotally mounted on the stud bolt 4 is af socket member 6 including a head 7 provided with a transverse bore 8, through which the stud bolt 4 extends. The diameter of the bore 8 gradually increases from the center to the ends thereof, as is clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, for the purpose of permitting a slight oscillatory lateral movement of the socket member and asso'- ciated parts, and at the same time providing an anti-friction pivotalconnection therefor. A washer 9 is positioned on the stud bolt 4 at each end of the head 7, and the socket member is secured in position by the slotted nut 10 and the Cotter 11 on theV threaded end 5 of the bolt 4. Y l f vThe lower. portionof the socket member 6 is formed with a socket 12 in which a vertically extending stem or carrier 13 is iXedly mounted by means of the rivet 14. The carrier 13 extends through anl aperture 15 the carrier 13, passing therethrough, for the l purpose hereinafter fully explained.

The upper and lower faces of the buffer '1' plate 16, surrounding the aperturevl, yare each formed with a recessed seat 18, in which seated'. The. 'op'posed ends ofe'ac'hofz the rocker members 19 is rounded and engages respective seat 18, whilethel .other end there-l of .is provided with"aperipheralvertical flange forming the pocket 21. The-rocken members 19 are each provided with' a central bore 22 and is slidably mounted on the carrier 13.

Y *.A heavy spiral spring123and affcomparae tivelyilight `spiral spring 24'. are fmounted^ on'thatportien of thecarri'er 13'eXtending above the-buffer plate 16 Vand on that portion of the carrier projectingeb'elow the buffer plate.V

#face of the coupler 25 providing lseats for' 26Vof the coupler 25i vThe lower'portion-of- A- coupler 20,*slidably -mounted i on theA carrier 13, is'interposed between each ypair of springs 23 and 24.v p groover26isformed v1n the upper 4and lower respective ends ofthe springs. z @ne endof the heavy spring 23 is seated in the pocket 21 vof thel rocker member 19, while the other end thereof is seated in an annular groove *above the buffer plateV 16." The lower portion of this spring 24 is seated in the groove 26,0f the coupler 25..v

tion ,of the carrier' extending below the bufferplateV 16, has the upper end thereof seatedin -the"groove 26 of a coupler 25, while the lower end irisv seated in the=cup member 28, which latter is slidably mount-f ed onthe-lower end ofthe carrier 13.

-The lower end of the carrier 13 is threaded, as at 29, and is engaged by a-slotted ten-v sioning nut 30which is lheld in the adjusted position by the cotter 31.

Y The `two pairsof springs 23 and 24', when in the normal position, are sufficiently tensioned by the "adjustmentV of the nut 30, to hold the rocker members 19k in their'respective seats 'inthe buffer plate 16 regardlessy of the vertical movement of the 'carrier 13v 'i during the operation of the device in practice. i .v

`Each `of the pair ofv springs 23 and 24 is fully lenclosed in a suitable casing consist'- ing of ytwo telescoping sections32 and 33, Y the 'former overlapping the latter. lThe casing `section y32Y enclosing the upper pair of springs is attached to 'the' socket member 6 andthe section 33 to a rocker member19. The casing section 32 enclosing the lower pair of springs is 'carried'bythe-other of the rocker members 19, while the section 33 issecured' to the cup member`28. The casingnotonly prevents 'the entranceof-'any A deep S annular- From the extraneous matterwhich might interfere with the proper functioning of the device,

butv cdnst'itutes 'a chamber, fo'pacling the absorbing elements in Agrease jif'so 4@desired AFor lubricating' purposes,pan oil hole 34 ,is providedjnthe ,socket member A6,' which communicatesV with the vertical conduit'35 formed-:jin the upper portion of the carrier 13and having an opening 36 on the periph- 'ery' of :the fcarrier.

Figure 3 of the drawing' illustrates the' application of the device in multiple,show" rangedwon the' axle 39 as to position oneunit,.

forward ofthel'axle' vand the otherat the rear thereoff 4The buffer plate 38 InountV ed on the bushing 40 to permit rocking movement of the plate 38 thereon; -lThe bushing- '40 :is fixed/toA the axleA and pro-v` vided a-t each end with an rannular flange 41- to'prevent lateral movement of the-plate 38. While the two units of thedevice will" normally `operate synchronously, therocking of the plate; 38 willlaugment the com-v pensatory action providedto 4eliminate cramping or binding'off-tlie working partsof the mechanism. -f

' In operationthe normal "shocks andjars from .f depression olrrebound of the vehicle body 'will-bef'absorb'ed by the operation of the light 'springs '24' only. In the case of:` f abnormal shocks, however, the heavy springs The light spring 24, mounted on that por-' 23 'will take over the absorptionload while springs 24 are compressed to apoint where the lower face ofthe socket member-(Sandi theuppcr face of the coupler '25 abut against each other in the upper'portio-n of the -de-l member 6 from the bar 3, ;in conjunction with .the freedom of movement 'allowed they carrier 13 in the'enlarged aperture 15, and

the' action of the l:rocker members 19 in' re spective seats 18", will assure a llimited4V uni-l versal movement to the absorbing mecha nism, and vprovide for its efficient 'operation the vehicle. y

foregoing description takenfin connection with the accompanying drawing, the principlev of construction and thelmeth-` odof operation will be readily* apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention. 'appertains, 'and while* describing what is'fnowth'oughtt'o-be -theE best embodiment of the invention,v it is to beund'erstoodthat partingiffi-om-the principle, Y'or 'sacrificing 11,5 regardless of 'the vibration, sway, etc.,v of f f the device shown in the drawing Ais ymerel-y illustrati-ve, and that various changes inthe Y 0lII1,{pI'Op`ortions, and minor details of construction'may be :resortedr'to,without de-". l y

any advantages of the invention, which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended; l

VVha-t I claim is:

l. A shock absorber comprising a pair of rocker elements7 a buffer plate interposed therebetween, a vvertically movable carrier extending through said elements and through said buffer plate, a pair of springs" of different tensions.mounted on the carrier between each rocker element and an end of the carrier, one of said springs operating in advance of therother, means for shiftably connecting' one end of the carrier with a vehicle body, and a telescopic casing enclosing each pair of springs.

2. A shock absorber for-vehicles comprising a buffer element extended from the axle of the vehicle, a carrier extended from the body of the vehicle and projecting through low the buffer element, and va pair of oppositely disposed rockerelements mounted on the carrier and having direct contact withL the opposite faces of the buffer element.

3. A shock absorber for vehicles comprising a buffer element extended from the axle of the vehicle, a carrie-r extended from the body of the vehicle andl projecting through said element connected by the latter with the vehicle axle, resilient elements mounted on the carrierfabove the buffer element, resilient elements mounted on the carrier below the buffe-r element, and a pair of oppositely disposed rocker elements mounted on the carrier and havingdirect Contact with the opposite faces of the bulfer element, said buffer element having its upper and lower faces at its free end provided with semi-spherical seats, said seats being oppositely disposed, andv each of said rocker elements being semi-spherical and directly engaging one of the seats.

In testimony whereof I aiiix myl si ature.

ALFRED E. C. GIL OUR. 

